Thanks Giving -- Giving Thanks

Thinking about "Thanks Giving" and all that those words imply made me think about my "Gratitude" jar.  Filled to the brim with little bits of thankfulness.Wouldn't it be more appropriate to take it from Thanksgiving Day to Thanksgiving Day?  

This shortly passed Thanksgiving I went through the jar I've been filling and read all of the little scraps of paper. 

 Once finished I set up this jar (which is a tiny bit bigger) for filling from this Thanksgiving to next year's Thanksgiving.  

We have all sorts of celebrations and holidays in this country but I do believe that Thanksgiving should be the most meaningful holiday of all.  

My 'thankful' thoughts go to each you for taking the time to read  my words and enter my world even though we have never met in person.

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."

William Arthur Ward

Celebrating Winter

What fun I'm having 'building' snowmen without getting cold and wet.



 I'm celebrating Winter a bit early this year.  But sharing my studio with snowmen seems to be a high priority for me.

 Here are a few Teresa Kogut designs that I'm working (or playing) with. I highly recommend her designs.

The above designs are created by Teresa Kogut. Oh how I love 'working' these designs and seeing them appear beneath my fingers.

I promise to show you my version in frames later this month.  Meanwhile here are 'good' thoughts of Winter.

* Turning our gas fireplace on for the first time in the year.

* Spending more time in my studio because its 'too cold' outside. (good excuse huh?)

*Bundling up with coat, hat and gloves and taking a walk on the first sunny day after a week of grey, cold days.

A good excuse for hot chocolate and/or hot tea morning, noon and night.

 

" Snowmen fall from heaven one flake at a time."

A Different Me!

With Fall all around me I've gone through somewhat of a metamorphose of my own.   Its taking me into "quietude" each day while celebrating the season. 



 

A big step, for me, is to use the pattern designs of others - rather than pushing myself to create original designs. 

This has two benefits.  It lifts the responsibility of the whole design off of my shoulders and I'll be able to share with you some of the designs created by others.

These designs are by Teresa Kogut.

 

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion." - Henry David Thoreau

  

 



  

OWL PATTERNS

Owl patterns are abundant here in my studio.  I've collected these darling images over time.  Now I'm ready to go through the process of making templates for the various    'species'. What fun this is going to be.

First I enlarge the original drawing to the size I want to make. Using cardboard (the thickness "of cereal boxes). I draw the owl design and then cut out the shapes within the pattern.  I end up with puzzle like pieces which I use to draw the design on Weavers cloth.

Of course the real fun doesn't begin until I choose colors which I promise you, won't be always be the 'real' colors of 'real' owls.  Isn't this fun?

"A forest bird never wants a cage." - Henrick Ibsen

 

"Organization"

The word 'organization' can become  a challenge or a rebuff.  Hey, don't 'people' expect crafters or artists to be a bit disorganized?  Isn't that part of our charm?

At this point in my life I find that I do better if I'm working in an organized area -- of course there's always 'stuff' around (supplies, unfinished projects, etc.) but even they can be organized.  Somehow 'organization' makes me feel like I might have a bit of control over at least  one part of my life. *smile*.

Each evening, as I leave my studio, I arrange everything to begin anew the next day. Its so easy to get sidetracked if I have to stop and 'go through stuff' before I even begin the actual punching.
Happy organization to you all!

"Organization isn't about perfection, its about efficiency. Reducing stress and clutter, saving time and energy and improving your overall quality of life." -  Christine Scal

September!!!

Oh my, the first day of September -- Fall cannot be far away.  Indeed, I found these two 'first fallen' leaves on my walk while we were in the middle of August.  I had to bring them home to give myself hope that our hot, wet summer was fading away. 

Most of the month of August I was working on a Fall punch needle picture and enjoying the thoughts of pumpkins, leaves falling and crows crowing -- does their call
really mean "Summer it almost over - Caw, Caw, Caw"?

 

I wonder if Mr. Crow is wearing a bell on his cap to let us know that time is moving on and we can celebrate the beautiful days of Fall any day now.

 

We heap up around us things that we do not need as the crow makes piles of glittering pebbles." - Laura Ingles Wilder

 

 

 











Earth Bird

 

 

 

Another 'new to me' bird has arrived in my studio.  Around here he's known as the "Earth Bird".  He is covered in 'earth shaded' feathers. 

Sitting here in squelching heat and humidity this bird decided to skip Summer and go directly to Fall.

Wish it was that easy, don't you? 

Again I thank Doreen Frost for this design. She has certainly kept my fingers and punch needle busy!!

"I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn." - Henry David Thoreau



"

A Yellow Winged Blue Bird

Hmmm  -- you say you've never heard of, let alone seen, a Yellow Winged Blue Bird???  Oh my...

I'm so glad that I can introduce this new species of bird.  Related to the "Love Grows" design by Doreen Frost this little bird has come to life here in my studio. 

So much fun to work -- and to play with. 

 It seems to me that this is the perfect time of the year to discover ornithology in the form of punch needle. 

What's going on in your studio during these hot summer days?

"A heart without dreams is like a bird without feathers." - Suzy Kassem

Capturing Floss

 

 

 

 

I used to store all of my floss in these open wire baskets.  Although I tried to keep the various colors separated I often found conglomerations of shade, colors, etc. in one basket, two baskets... I'm sure you get the idea.

   

One day recently I walked into the local Dollar Store and there were glass jars sitting there waiting for me.  They were designed to look like the old canning jars of my childhood and had nice wide mouths on them.

 







 



What a joy to separate out floss colors and put each of them in their jar.  At a glance I can see the colors and shades making it much easier to determine what additions I might need and if I need to get replacements.  'Heaven' in jars!!!

"Colorful threads move through my fingers and onto cloth". -Penny

Summer Time





As July becomes a realty I finish up a new-to-me punchneedle design.  Obviously it is not geared to summer -- but I do love this autumn design and had to get busy on it, even though the Fall months are no where near. 

This design is from Doreen Frost's imagination  and skill.  I have heard people say that they prefer to create their own designs and I would have said that myself at one time.  BUT these days the idea of starting from scratch just does not appeal to me. 

As I stitched this piece the only change I made to the design was to use reverse PN so that instead of the loopy finish I ended up with a textured, almost drawn piece.

 
It so pleased me to sit here in my studio punching each stitch and watching the design become real.  Where is your creativity taking you these days?

"Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair..." - Susan Polis Schutz

U TURN

After too many fiasco's with three dimensional punch needle I have made a U turn and gone back to using other artists designs and following their directions and their paths.

Its quite freeing to know that all I have to do is fill in the spaces of a drawing on Weaver's Cloth using colors chosen by someone else or of my own choosing -- but with no thought except to do careful stitching and watch the design appear beneath my fingers.

I've also discovered a Punch Needle periodical called "Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher".  Each issue includes several patterns that I can follow and complete.

This all takes me back to the hours I would spend as a young child, laying on the floor, coloring in my coloring books, humming and happy!

"Don't ever rule out the option of U-turn in your life, because one day you will need it!  The moment you realize you are going in the wrong direction, turn to the right direction instantly, with a beautiful U-turn." 
 - Mehmet Murat ildan

 

A Color Filled World

Over the past few weeks I've been absorbed with color. 
 

I have been experimenting with color, using the combinations that I see all around me.  I want to thank Pamela Zagarenski the artist of www.SACREDBEE.com. Her cards are delicious tutors when it comes to the lovely colorful, yet soft combinations she uses.

In fact I recently took a bunch of her cards with me to the fabric shop where I used her colors when choosing floss for my next project.  What fun!!!

What colors do you find yourself using these days?

"Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it." - Tagore

GRATITUDE

Sitting on a shelf above my computer is this jar.  It began life as a pickle jar and now it holds slips of paper.

Each day I write something that I am grateful for and slip it into the jar. Mostly my gratitude for the day is something small, something that I normally don't think about but just accept as if it was mine. 

Pausing to be grateful is a gift in itself and I shall happily tamp down these small gratitudes as each day passes.

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." - William Arthur Ward

Three Owls

Here are three owls -- all lined up together, keeping each other company.

What fun it is to create 'critters' - to almost see them 'come alive' beneath my hands and needle. 

If this spirit of mine stays strong there will be other owls joining this group.  Wouldn't it be fun to run out of shelf room all because my hands have been busy creating?"

"Owl," said rabbit shortly, you and I have brains.  The others have fluff.  If there is any thinking to be done in this forest -- and when I say thinking I mean thinking -- you and I must do it." - A.A. Milne
   

Learning from owls...

 

 

 

This fellow has been sitting here, quietly for quite awhile. 

 

 

 



 

This little fellow is a newcomer.  Poor thing he certainly looks as lost as I felt when I was creating him.  But he taught me several lessons.

 

The first lesson is to follow my heart - not my 'get this done' gene.  The second one is that I need color and laughter and joy. Rather than trying to copy the subdued natural colors we see in 'real' creatures I hope to create a whole new subspecies representing the "Colorful Owl".

 

  I thank each and everyone of you for regularly stopping by to visit. Hopefully my blog will come back to life in the next few months.

 

I have made lots of promises to myself in this posting. For 'healing' purposes, if nothing else, I shall endeavor to keep all of them. 

 

                     "Relax, nothing is under control
                      Inhale the future, exhale the past."

                                      -anonymous

 







April Greens

Yes, the world is turning green - all around me.  It is Spring and birds eggs sit in the nests waiting to hatch.

It is Spring and sometimes I'm lucky to see a butterfly flitting in the garden.

It is Spring and I'm choosing bright, light colors for the upcoming spring and summer days.

It is Spring all around me.

"Every spring is the only spring -- a perpetual astonishment." - Ellis Peters

March into March

Here we go - into one of the most fickle of months.  It could snow tomorrow - it could be sunny and warm - it could rain until it floods...  You get the idea - this is March.

Working on this month's punch needle was somewhat of a chore.  The colors go all over the place -- deep and somewhat dark, a spark of green here and there, a wind that will blow all the branches dried by the cold winter and once in awhile a lovely sunny day promising that Spring will be here on the 20th of this month.

Although they don't photograph well I've used two words framed and mounted (they were formerly earrings).  One says 'ebb' and one says 'flow' -- perfect for the month of March.

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer  in the light and winter in the shade." - Charles Dickens

The Month of Hearts

I welcome this month of hearts.  First and foremost my own which seems to be pumping along the way it is supposed to. *smile*

Secondly the whole symbol that the heart shape means to me. It means love and friendship and caring and beauty.

I wish for each of you a heart happy month filled with love, and joy -- fun and laughter.

As you can see my hands and heart have drifted back to punch needle! A perfectly quiet way to fill these cold winter afternoons.

"Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eys, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts." - Paramahansa Yogananda

New Year Thoughts

Happy New year!!   A new year always seems like a clean slate to me and after this past year I could use a clean slate, I think that a lot of us can.

Recently we had a beautiful snowfall -- it seemed like it was issuing in a lovely, soft, white winter -- a time of the year for cocooning inside where its warm and cozy.

Winter is almost like a 'time out' for everything but soft, quiet days in which to gather ideas, do some creating and just slow down.  I found this most wonderful journal which I will be starting today.  Each page has a reminder to practice mindfulness.  If I can bring mindfulness into my life this new year I will feel as if I've accomplished a lot. 

"What would it be like if I could accept life - accept this moment - exactly like it is?" Tara Brach